Brighton and Hove Albion moved back top of the Championship on Saturday on a day when Gillingham passed on the opportunity to take charge of League One.
Following Derby County's 2-0 win at Hull City on Friday night, Chris Hughton's side knew three points against Birmingham City would send them into pole position.
The south-coast club got off to a great start when Solomon March opened the scoring after 17 minutes, but Jon Toral quickly pegged them back.
Brighton icon Bobby Zamora restored their advantage soon after the interval – scoring for the second consecutive match – and it proved enough for a 2-1 win to send them two points clear of Middlesbrough, who rose to second following a 2-0 triumph at Huddersfield Town.
Burnley battled from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw at Cardiff City, Ipswich Town dispatched struggling Charlton Athletic 3-0 and Nottingham Forest came from behind to defeat Reading 3-1.
Adam Armstrong's 13th goal of the season gave Tony Mowbray's side the advantage, but a Nathan Tyson double cancelled out both his and John Fleck's strikes.
Burton Albion's 5-1 hammering of Colchester City – who have now lost five league outings in a row – saw them close the gap on the top two, while Swindon Town and Peterborough United secured 4-0 wins at Chesterfield and Scunthorpe United respectively. Defeat for Chesterfield - a fourth on the bounce - prompted them to part company with manager Dean Saunders.
Oxford United displaced Plymouth Argyle at the top of League Two, with Danny Hylton's second-half strike earning a 1-0 win away at Hartlepool United.
Oxford sit above the Devon side – who left it late to take a 1-1 draw away from Dagenham and Redbridge – on goal difference, while Northampton Town joined the pair on 40 points by overcoming Yeovil Town 2-0.
Second-bottom York City's winless league run now stands at 14 matches following a 5-1 loss at home to Accrington Stanley, who moved into fourth with Portsmouth drawing 2-2 at Wycombe Wanderers.
Chris Whelpdale scored a hat-trick but missed one of Stevenage's two penalties against Morecambe, who could not avoid a 4-3 defeat despite a pair of late goals.
